The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1887-06-17
OF HE UNDERTAKINGS In THE
UNIFIED STATES
BY Investigators OF the Economic
Ass0clatlon-The Extent to
Which it Is Successful
AND THE VARIOUS FORMS 1T
HAS TAKEN.
Farmers Have UeRe Little With Co
operative Production Cream.
cries are Common,



the Economic Assoc alton hes recently
been completed. 1t shows that there
10 much more co operation in this
country than is generally supposed.
Reports have been received from the
New England States, the Western
States and, vito minute detail, nom
Minnesota. Both disaibut.ve and pro-
ductive cooperation ere included 10
the inquiry. In New England there
are at least fifty.thTee establishments
engaged in distrihutive cooperation.
More familiarlY these are known as
coop. stores" About one-half, or
twenty.eight, are in Massachusetts
six in Connecticut, sixteen in N aine,
two in New Ham pshile and one in
Rhode Islanj. Most OF these are Of
recent Gaze, and, with a few excep.
tione, have been orsanized since 1870 !;
one dates back to le47 and another to
1850. These two early ones, end
another founded in 1865, are the Only
surviva!s Ct the old union stores of
forty ye Ts ego. At one time there
were LOG OF these. Somewhat similar
are the grange stores, which are
pstronized by the $4,000 or 80, COO
members of this organization. These
grange stores in the East are confined
to Maine, New Hampshire and Con.
necticut. They are the survival of the
fittest and have successful basis.
OF the fifty.three stores thirty-two
report an aggregate capital OF S137 600,
the amount of each ranging from ST.
600 to $4,000. Ia general the psr
value of share Ia IS. This ia eignifi.
can't ss indicating the possibility of
investment. by the poor man. The
number of share holders in twenty
two companies is $40, which ipdi.
Gates a rather wide interest. The
trade reported by the thirty.three
stores making full Teturns ia $780,
600 As many of the stores turned
over their capital more than twelve
times during the year, it may be ssie-
ly stated that The entire business of
distributive coo peratiou Ia New Egg
land was 100000 during the past
year.
| lin the West the grange store has
not generally survived the misfortune
of it's earlier days. In Illinois there
were at one time co operative stores
in one-half the counties of the State.
These have mostly failed. In Michi-
gan there are three semi successful
stores. In Indiana and Ohio little re-.
mains OF former prosperity. The idea
has been better Realised in Kansas,
where at the present time there are
twenty or thirty sm,ll stores. The
Oldest and most successful is at Olathe,
which has Increased it's sales from
Sal, 900 in 1875 to $2l0, 600 in 1885.
The efforts of lhe Koighls of Labor
or of other labor organizations are too
recent to justify much mention. In
1885 sentiment in this d rection rapid
ly crystallized and labor stores were
established. 1t Is here that interest in
the future will bs the greatest A
unique, though not perhaps strictly
cooperative institution is the Nor
mon undertaking called the "Zion's
Cooperative Mercantile Institution. !"
The stock OF the company is 81 100000
and the sales between 100000 and
$5,000,000. 1t is m1re proper, how
ever, TO call this a joint stuck cor
porstion, although Its results have
been somewhat similar to those
reached by the wholesale cooperative
stores Of England.
Later in time there hes been devel-
oped that form Of CO operation known
as productive. Of the twenty COM
panies in New Eoglsnd sixteen are in
Massachusetts,. There are also eleven
in Ohio, seven in Indiana, fourteen in
Illinois, feur in MichiGa1, nine in
Missouri and two in Kansas. Pro.
ductive cooperation seems to have
struck more deeply in the West than
elsewhere.
OF more importance is the form of
production which cooperation has
taken. In New Enulsnd there are
seven cooperative shoe companies,
five stove aud foundry companies,
three printing companies and two
furniture companies. Five other COM
panies have been just organized, and
It is estimated that in this year, 1887,
there will be business Of more than
100000. The most successful, per-
haps, is the stove company in Stone.
ham, Msss., which has an annual
product of $l50,000, with capital Of
$4,000, divided among fifty.seven
shareholders, twenty-five Of whom are
employ ed in the establishment. There
are at least 100 shareholders in these
twenty associations, and if we take
into consideration those which have
not reported it is safe to say
that 10000 persons are interested
in cooperation in New England. In
the West more kinds Of industries
are represented in cooperation. In
1886 there were at least seven cooper
alive mining companies IN operation
in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.
Three of them, with combined capt.
tai Of $55, 900 are reported as prosper
GUS; and in these cases where failure
has occurred it has been dne to the
hostile action OF the railroads. These
companies all originated either from
strikes or dissffectioR with wages. The
furniture makers have enjoyed con-
siderable success OF their FIVE I'M
dertakings one dates back 10 1878;
three of them are situated in st. Louis.
Inc greatest SUCCESS LBS Deou aCuleNeu
by the coopers in Minneapolis. The
history Of their work is of common re-
port. Their one shop cf 1874 has in-
creased to eight.
farmers have dore little with pro-
ductive cooperation. The few agri-
cultural colonies are as yet expert
mental; but coop rstive creameries
are common in New England, New
York and Ohio. II is estimated that
about one.iourth of the dsirying in
some counties of the later State is
carried on in the cooperative form.
This completes the review of what
has been done in cooperation thus
far in the United States. In conclu-
sion, it may be said that this expert
ence shows that the co operative store
can be made successful, but that as YET
cooperation with dividends to labor
lie, except in Minneapolis, 10 such q
tentative condition that no definite
judgment can be given. In addition
to the forms of cooperation mentioned
there should be added, to make com.
plete inquiry, cooperative banks and
buildinQ societies.